Province Matters
Provincial By-Election Likely to Result in City By-Election This Fall
Aug 31st
Breaking news this morning that Saskatoon-Northwest MLA Serge LeClerc has tendered a letter of resignation in Regina. This paves the way for the Sask Party government to call a by-election in Saskatoon-Northwest sometime within the next few months.
As previously discussed here on this blog, Ward 5 City Councillor Gordon Wyant is the nominated candidate for the Sask Party in the Northwest constituency. Councillor Wyant has already indicated that he will take a break from City Council during the writ period. Should he win the by-election in Northwest, which has been a Sask Party Seat since 2003 with LeClerc winning handily in 2007, it is all but certain that Wyant would resign his City Council Seat.
Assuming this all happens before October 2011, that would force a by-election for the vacated Ward 5 Council seat.
Currently, there has been no indication of whom might consider running in such a City by-election.
Councillor Wyant Wins Saskatchewan Party Nomination
Jun 8th
Last evening Councillor Gordon Wyant (Ward 5) won the Saskatchewan Party nomination, uncontested, for the Saskatoon-Northwest constituency. There has been no indication from Councillor Wyant how he intends to deal with the potential conflict with his Councillor duties during the Provincial Election campaign, with voting day pre-set for November 7, 2011.
Councillor Wyant’s nomination means there are now two sitting Councillors seeking higher office, Councillor Darren Hill received the Liberal Party nomination for the Federal Riding of Saskatoon-Humboldt earlier this spring.
Weir Hydro Generation/Whitewater Park: City Council Debate
May 12th
While watching City Council on Monday evening, I attempted to capture the essence of the questions and comments posed by City Council.
On a positive note, it was refreshing to see some informative and well-thought out questions and statements regarding the proposed hydro generation station at the weir and the potential addition of a whitewater park. Council is infinitely more educational and important to the civic discourse when these type of discussions/debates are had, ones that demonstrate Councillors are attentively addressing the concerns of their residents and listening to varying opinions.
The following is a summary of the notes and quotes I was able to capture, as well as some general observations of the debate (responses to questions by SL&P are in italics):
- During the presentation by City Admin and Saskatoon Light and Power (SL&P) I was chuckling at the young lady sitting directly behind the presenters. As the presentation dragged on (and, yes, it was an exceedingly detailed, dry, and long affair) she proceeded to place her head in her lap and give herself a neck massage, alternating that with her hands clasping her head with a look of shear bordem spread across her face. Someone should probably warn people that More >
Notes and Observations: City Council – May 10, 2010
May 11th
A few notes and observations from the City Council Meeting last night. I wasn’t able to attend in person, but through the magic of Shaw Cable I took in the proceedings from my couch:
1. Borrowing Limit - Council approved a motion to increase the borrowing limit (set by provincial legislation) from the current $297 million to $414 million. Once the bridge construction gets under way, Saskatoon will have approximately $160 million in borrowed dollars. Councillor Clark has requested a report from Administration summarizing Saskatoon’s borrowing amount and how it compares to other cities. In 2010, Saskatoon will be spending over $12 million on servicing their debt, which represents over 4% of the 2010 Operating Budget.
2. Recycling Consultation – Council approved the proposed plan by City Administration to undertake a series of public consultative meetings and stakeholder meetings over the next 4 months. However, a few councillors re-iterated their displeasure with the seemingly hasty plans and the lack of more information coming before Council before the meetings take place. The two major public open houses are scheduled for June 8th and June 9th. A few quotes of interest from the discussion that followed (paraphrased):
Mayor Atchison (long opposed to curbside recycling) – More >
Recycling Consultation: Full Cost Analysis Indicates $3 per household/month
Jun 29th
Posted by Sean Shaw in City Council
3 comments
In an effort to continue beating the dead horse that is the 2007 Saskatoon Waste and Recycling Plan (SWRP), let’s take a look at the estimated costs associated with establishing a city-wide curbside recycling program. Using the triple-bottom line cost estimates developed by the outside consultants in the SWRP and building in some conservatively estimated cost savings and revenue generation, we can get a better sense of the true cost of such a program.
________________________________
A quick primer: In 2006 the City commissioned a comprehensive report on how the City generates, handles, and disposes of its waste. Additionally, that report was given the mandate to propose a new long-term plan on how Saskatoon would eventually become a “zero-waste” city. That plan, unanimously adopted by each and every member on today’s City Council in November 2007, involved a series of working groups, stakeholder engagement, and (wait for it) public consultation/information open houses.
The crux of the plan was a three phase process. Phase I was to start educating residents on how they can reduce their waste and move every home to an individual garbage bin. Phase II (which was scheduled to be implemented this year) was to institute a city-wide curbside recycling program with More >